Chapter 4

Ryan froze. Bit by bit, the light in his eyes visibly dimmed. "I see…"

Slowly, he lowered his head and fell silent, his eyes pooling with tears.

Completely oblivious, Rowan continued, "Meg only asked for this one little favor, and honestly, I didn't think it was a big deal. We can always take the family portrait some other time. Right, Ry?"

He had no idea that Ryan and I were leaving tomorrow. This was his very last chance.

Yet, neither Ryan nor I said a word. We merely nodded wordlessly.

"Alright."

"Okay."

Rowan breathed a sigh of relief, and a visible smile spread across his face, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "In that case, I'll tell Meg right now. See you at Starlight Studios at 3:00 pm!"

With that, he rose to his feet and left.

When he was almost at the door, he turned back around. "Honey, Ry, you two are the best!"

Neither Ryan nor I made a sound. Once he left, Ryan jumped off the bed and took the backpack he had already prepared from the closet. "I don't ever want to see Mr. Goodwin again, Mommy. Can we leave early?"

…

I changed our flight tickets to 3:00 pm that day. After confirming the passenger information, I immediately started making the final preparations for our departure.

At 9:00 am, I made breakfast in this house for the very last time. The cake Rowan had bought last night was still in the fridge. Ryan took it out and threw it into the trash.

At 10:00 am, I retrieved the divorce agreement Rowan had signed from my lawyer. The first clause stated that I had full custody of Ryan.

While we waited, I came across Megan's new post. "Our family portrait is finally in our hands! My boy and his daddy love it so much. They said it has to be hung right where everyone can see it!"

Ryan was beside me, folding paper airplanes. When he saw the post, he didn't comment on it and merely urged me, "Hurry up and sign it, Mommy!"

At 1:00 pm, after Ryan and I finished lunch, we gathered all of our bags and suitcases and took a cab to the airport. There were still two hours left until our scheduled meeting with Rowan.

Holding an iPad, Ryan quietly looked through the photos of him and Rowan in the album. There was a photo from his one-month celebration party, where Rowan had cradled him and proudly shown him off to everyone.

There was another from when he was three years old, where Rowan held him close as they both threw up peace signs while watching a Minions movie together.

There was also a video from when he turned seven years old this year, right before Megan appeared, of Rowan following close behind him, teaching him how to ride a bicycle.

Ryan watched them over and over again without shedding a tear, yet a heavy, suffocating sadness filled the entire cab. I sat beside him in silence.

At 2:00 pm, we were about to go through security when Rowan called. "Gigi, please tell Ry I'm incredibly sorry. Nel fell and got hurt, and I had to rush him to the hospital. I'm not sure if I can make it by 3:00 pm. If you guys don't see me, just go home. Please tell Ry I'm sorry!"

He hung up on me, missing the boarding announcement echoing through the departure hall.

"Let's go." I took Ryan's hand. He nodded, selected all the photos in the album, and deleted them all with a single tap.

At 3:00 pm sharp, the plane took off. I placed the headphones over Ryan's ears and gazed out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, letting out a long sigh from the very depths of my soul.

Goodbye, Rowan.

…

Meanwhile, ignoring Megan's tearful pleas, Rowan bolted out of the hospital and sped toward Starlight Studios.